


If Life is a Story We’re Meant to Live Through, Than Both Me and You are the Pages

by Deenerann



Series: Schitt's Creek Musings [4]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deenerann/pseuds/Deenerann
Summary: Stevie really cares about her friend
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd & David Rose, Stevie Budd & Patrick Brewer
Series: Schitt's Creek Musings [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615900
Comments: 14
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from a Cloud Cult song called "Through the Agest" (which is amazing, and if you don't know who Cloud Cult is, go listen to that song immediately). It works for Stevie and David's relationship really well.

Stevie Budd loved David Rose.

No, not like _that_. Not anymore, anyway.

There _had_ been a time when that was true, back when she was confused by surprisingly good sex muddled together with how much she’d actually enjoyed being around him, but that time had long passed.

Now her feelings had turned into something else. Something warmer and more familiar. She thought maybe he was her best friend—if she bought into a concept as sentimental as that, anyway.

Whatever it was, he was her favorite person, and she wanted him to have the very best life he could in this pathetic town. He didn’t really fit in here, but in the last year he’d been _trying_. As much as he could, anyway. When he told her about his idea for the general store, she’d gone along with it, trying her best to encourage him to take that leap.

It would be good for him.

That was why, when he’d told her about the guy at Ray’s who’d given him a hard time about the business license, she’d been momentarily annoyed. Then, she thought about it.

This was _David_. He probably just overreacted… like he did in every other aspect of his life.

“He’s probably just trying to help.”

David stared at her and grimaced, holding up his hands. “No, no. He was _very_ snippy.”

Stevie sighed and pulled the latest find out of her pocket. Sometimes the motel produced some unexpected treasures.

“Okay, um, I found _this_ under the bed in room 2, so do you want to take a break?”

David looked momentarily horrified, but then readily agreed.

Stevie smiled to herself. He was so easy to distract.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to keep adding more to this one, so multiple chapters it is!

Initially, Stevie had been worried when David admitted to her that he'd gone into business with the same guy he’d met at Ray’s.

The store was David’s baby and Stevie hated to see him share it with someone. At the same time, she knew David was _not_ a business person and it was probably a great idea to have a partner who actually understood paperwork.

Still, was the guy from Ray’s _really_ that person?

Stevie hadn’t met him yet, but David talked about him a lot. Like a _lot_ -lot. Almost to the point that Stevie started to get jealous. She had no idea what this guy looked like. David only off-handedly mentioned once that he was cute, in a straight-edge sort of way, but beyond that, she got nothing about his appearance. It wasn’t like David to be so cagey about anything—usually he couldn’t stop talking—but something about this guy had him acting all weird.

Stevie wasn’t sure what she expected—probably a middle-aged nerd—but when Patrick walked into the store and introduced himself on the same day that David was in the middle of freaking out about lice, Stevie suddenly understood why David had been so carefully avoiding the “what does he look like?” conversation.

He was cute. Like, really, _really_ cute.

And young.

More interestingly, he was absolutely _not_ into her as a person of the female persuasion. She got that vibe right away, and it was further confirmed by the way Patrick smiled at David, at the way he teased him and didn’t take his shit.

Stevie liked him.

She was also 87% sure he liked David. He liked him beyond the business partner sense, that is. There was something in his expression when he watched David move around the store—a flash in his eyes when David did a little shimmy while talking about milk for his body. It made Stevie think, “Ohhhh.”

No wonder David was being cagey, the little shit.

Patrick’s reaction to the lice situation was also not what Stevie expected. Asking David to stay at his place instead of the motel? Oh, there was definitely something else going on between them.

David turning him down in favor of staying at Stevie’s, though? What was he doing? Honest to God, for as smart as David was—and he really was, even if most people didn’t realize that—he was completely clueless about when people were attracted to him. She should know, as embarrassing as that was to remember.

Still, she missed David. She hadn’t really seen him in weeks, and texts messaging was getting old. He was still her favorite person and a platonic sleepover sounded like fun. Bonus that she’d now be able to give David shit about a cute boy who wasn’t Jake.

David’s reaction to her teasing validated her earlier thoughts. Her friend had it bad. He refused to admit it, but he totally had a pretty massive crush on his “business” partner, as he kept constantly emphasizing. He was so flustered that he admitted he didn’t know what Patrick’s preferences were.

Ah-ha! So there’s the crux of the problem.

Stevie needed to figure out how to push David to act on this beyond his many, many insecurities. In the meantime, though….

“I like this for you,” she said, watching David’s face contort while he tried not to smile and blush.

“Like what? There’s nothing to like?”

“You seem flustered.”

“I’m not flu—maybe it’s the eggs.”

Stevie grinned. This was going to be so much fun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene where David first sees the receipt, and the look he gives Patrick in that moment, is one of my favorites. You can see everything click into place in his head, and I love it. 
> 
> Stevie saw it, too.

Stevie’s phone buzzed with an incoming text from David.

**It’s my birthday. Everyone forgot my birthday.**

**That’s because you’re old and no one cares.**

**Ha. Ha. Very funny. I hate you.**

**You don’t hate me. What do you have planned for tonight?**

**Um. I’m not sure. I guess dinner with Patrick?**

**What?!? And you didn’t lead with that?**

**It’s nothing. I think he feels sorry for me, since EVERYONE ELSE FORGOT. We’re just meeting up at the café at 8. Do you want to come? You should come.**

Stevie considered saying no. She was almost positive that Patrick finally took the leap and asked David out for real, but at the same time, she knew David would remain completely clueless to that fact unless she stepped in and slapped him across the face with it.

**Sure. The hotel is swamped, so I can’t chat right now, but I’ll see you tonight.**

**Cool.**

Stevie stared at her phone and sighed. What the hell would David do without her?

***

The café was pretty empty and Stevie quickly located David and Patrick. They sat across from each other at a booth, laughing at something. David’s back was to her, but she could see Patrick’s face—and the fact that he was wearing a suit jacket.

Oh, it was _definitely_ a date. David was an idiot.

Patrick gazed across the table at David while he stared down at the oversized menu, and what Stevie saw in Patrick’s expression warmed her insides.

_Well, happy birthday to you, David!_

She absolutely needed to take charge here, or this date was probably going to go south—mainly because David was too clueless to see this for what it was.

She marched up to the table.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Patrick jumped a little in his seat and stared up at her. She recognized dismay in his eyes and felt bad, but forged ahead.

“Is everybody here, or are other people coming?”

Patrick cleared his throat. “Uh, I don’t know? Is anyone else coming?”

“No. This—this is it,” answered David, more awkwardly than normal. “In case you didn’t know, I’m wildly popular. Some might even venture to call me beloved.”

“That’s a bit of a stretch,” teased Patrick.

David flashed him an honest-to-god grin.

Stevie’s eyes widened. She rarely saw that kind of honest emotion come out of David. Oh, he definitely had it _bad_.

Patrick looked up at her. “Welcome, Stevie. I’m sorry, if I—I’d known you were coming, I would have had them set three places, but um…”

“Oh.” Shit. There was even a present sitting where another person would have sat. What the hell was David doing? Patrick didn’t even know she was _coming_? Man, now she really felt bad.

“Did I not tell you?” David asked, trying to sound innocent.

He didn’t fool her. Ugh, he was running scared. He really needed her help tonight.

“But, you know what? Hey, the more the merrier. I’m just, um, just going to hit the restroom real quick, and then I’ll come back—“ Patrick got up and pretty much sprinted from the table.

Stevie slid into the booth and smiled at David. “Happy birthday!”

“Thank you!”

He looked good tonight. She could tell he’d tried to appear casual, but definitely had spent some time on his hair and face. He obviously wanted this to be a date, even if he wasn’t consciously aware of it.

“Is this okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because, he bought you a present. It’s very nicely wrapped. So, I think I’m crashing a date.” She said it slowly, so it would sink in.

“Oh, no. No, no,” protested David, sitting back in the booth and staring at her with wide eyes.

Stevie tried again. “He thinks you guys are here one-on-one. He bought you a present. I didn’t even get you a present.”

“No, I noticed that,” said David, his snark momentarily returning.

“Do you want me to look?” she teased.

“No. I _don’t_ want you to look.” David’s expression contradicted his words.

Stevie picked up the present and set it on the table. “Okay. I’ll just say this—if there is _anything_ remotely sentimental in here, he is on a date with you right now.”

David looked shocked. He stared at the present with wide eyes, and then back up to meet Stevie’s gaze. She could see hope and worry at war in there, bouncing around his brain like popcorn.

She pushed the present toward him and raised an eyebrow.

He shrank back like it was going to bite him.

She grabbed a menu and stared down at it, letting David work out how he felt about this turn of events.

It took Patrick a good ten minutes to return to the table. He must have really been shaken up by her arrival. The longer she stayed, the worse she felt, but she really wanted to see what the present was. If it _wasn’t_ something sentimental, she’d need to stay anyway. David would spiral, and it would probably be her fault.

She didn’t think she was wrong about this, though.

Patrick finally came back and was clearly embarrassed about the fact that they’d found the present. They had some awkward back and forth about whether or not David should open it, but David finally won the battle, pulling it toward him to unwrap it.

He pulled something solid out of the bag. It looked like a picture frame.

Patrick babbled about something, clearly nervous, but Stevie watched her best friend’s face instead. He looked stunned.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Oh, um. It’s just—it’s just the receipt. From our first sale at the store,” Patrick answered. He sounded nervous, unsure.

Stevie’s heart did a little lurch for David. That was _way_ more than sentimental.

David stared at the gift in his hands for a beat longer than she expected. When he glanced back up at Patrick, his expression was just _soft_. She’d never seen a look like that on his face before.

Stevie sucked in a breath and her eyes watered. This was _big_.

“Um, this is not nothing. So, thank you.” David sounded subdued, a little awe-struck.

Stevie glanced at Patrick, who stared at David with something resembling adoration. They both had totally forgotten she was there, _that_ much was clear. She needed to leave.

Just then, Twyla showed up bearing mozzarella sticks and broke the charged moment. When she said she was just heading out, Stevie jumped at her chance.

“You know what? I have to go, too. I totally forgot. Um, I’m going to take some to go, though….” She grabbed a couple limp sticks and scooted out of the booth. As Patrick settled back in, his back to her, she and David made eye contact. She pointed to Patrick’s back and gave him a thumbs up.

David blinked, his expression still stunned and soft. She loved that look on him.

Before he could say anything to get her to stay, she fled.

It was a good two hours before her phone buzzed again.

**I kissed him.**

Stevie let out a little squeal and started to type back, but the bubbles of another message appeared. She waited for David to finish his thought.

**Thank you.**

Stevie wiped her eyes, where tears had suddenly formed. It was late, she was sentimental, so sue her! She wanted to ask a million questions, but David stopped typing and she didn’t want to push him tonight. He was probably so far in his head he’d be horrible at conversation, anyway.

**Happy birthday, David.**

She placed her phone on her nightstand and snuggled under the covers, pleased. Her work here was done.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's open mic night, and Stevie is having way too much fun with it

**Mayday!**

David’s text came through with all the dramatics in which he probably sent it. Stevie knew him well enough to read the single word in his voice—high-pitched and slightly breathless, hands waving.

**What’s going on?**

**Patrick wants to hold an open mic night at the store. How do we stop this from happening?**

Stevie snorted out loud. Oh God, David was probably in FULL panic mode.

**So, what’s the big deal about an open mic? You love karaoke.**

**This is NOT the same thing! Karaoke is FUN. Karaoke involves copious amounts of alcohol and Mariah. This ABHORRENCE that Patrick wants? This will be people who can’t sing trying to sing AT us with instruments. Maybe even reciting beat poetry, I don’t know. This is NOT part of my brand.**

**Ohhh… is Patrick going to sing to you? Is he going to perform an off-key serenade in front of the entire town? How sweet.**

**Shut up. I hate you.**

Stevie sat up straight, a surprised laugh leaving her lips.

**Wait. I was kidding. Holy shit, is he really going to sing to you?**

Her phone remained silent for a couple minutes before David’s next text came through. Stevie could feel his horror through the phone.

**There may be an acoustic guitar involved.**

**Oh nooo. Can he even sing?**

**I don’t KNOW. I’ve never heard him. I mean, I’ve heard him hum sometimes, but not like actual SINGING. For all I know he could be horrible. I don’t know if our relationship can survive this kind of embarrassment.**

Stevie lost it. She sat back in her seat and laughed until her eyes teared up. This was going to be glorious.

**If you think I’m going to help you stop this, you’re sadly mistaken. This will be the single greatest moment of my life.**

**I truly hate you. We are no longer friends.**

Giggling, Stevie put her phone in her pocket, refusing to take the bait.

***

Later that night, she texted Patrick. David didn’t know how often the two of them actually talked—mostly because they talked about _him_ , giving each other advice on how to handle his many outbursts. At any rate, she really liked Patrick. She thought he was the best thing to ever happen to David, and they seemed to be doing really well as a couple.

Singing at him in front of the town, though? He _had_ to know that David wouldn’t handle that well. She had a feeling she knew what was going on, but wanted to be sure. If she was wrong, she would definitely need to talk Patrick out of doing this. She didn’t want to see them break up.

**You actually can sing, can’t you? Please tell me you can sing.**

It took a minute, but Patrick responded, sending along an audio file.

**Don’t let David hear this. I arranged it over the weekend, but I want to surprise him. You tell me if I can sing.**

Stevie pressed play and listened as Patrick’s voice came over her phone, the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar accompanying him as he did an original cover of a Tina Turner song she knew David adored.

God DAMN, could he _ever_ sing!

**Oh. My. God. David is going to shit himself.**

Her phone rang a second later.

Patrick’s voice was hesitant. “You really think he’ll be okay with me doing this?”

“Oh, he’s going to absolutely HATE it until you start to sing. Then he’ll love it. Trust me on this. How does he not already know you can sing like that?”

“I guess I kind of had it in the back of my head that I was going to serenade him sometime, and I wanted it to stay a surprise. The open mic idea is relatively new, but I guess I just wanted the town to understand how special he is to me.”

Stevie sucked in a breath. “Well, that’s the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Do you have a brother?”

“Only child, sorry—and this isn’t entirely altruistic. We need to get some sort of foot traffic in the store. This seems like a good way to do it.”

“David is losing his mind over this.”

Patrick laughed. “I know. It’s been so much fun. I’ve been making him believe I’m not any good.”

“You’re a monster,” Stevie breathed out, giggling. “When’s the concert.”

“In a couple days. Can you come?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” She thought about it for a minute. “I’m going to tell David I’m not coming, though. He’ll be more miserable if he thinks he has to experience the horror alone.”

Patrick snorted. “ _You’re_ a monster. Thanks for keeping my secret.”

“Anytime, pal. I’ll see you later.”

Stevie hung up the phone, grinning. It was going to be so much fun seeing David sweat this out.

***

**What do you mean you can’t come tonight?!?!**

Stevie grinned. Everything was going according to plan. David was fully freaking out. She stood outside the store, peeking in through the window. David leaned against the counter, wearing a bright orange sweater she’d never seen before. Who knew he had that bright of a color in his wardrobe? He must really be feeling out of sorts.

**Sorry, I think I got sick from that sushi. I knew it was suspect. I haven’t left the bathroom all afternoon.**

**Ew. Please stop talking.**

Stevie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

**Looks like you’ll have to survive this on your own. Do you think you’ll break up with him before or after he sings Coldplay to you?**

**Eat glass.**

There was a pause and David continued to type.

**Seriously. There are so many people here. So. Many. People. I’m freaking out.**

**Oh, God. It’s starting. Pray for me.**

Stevie glanced at the stage and saw Patrick up there, guitar in hand. She grinned and slipped into the store behind a couple walking through the door. David’s eyes were riveted on the stage, so he didn’t see her. She hid behind a display of body milk and hit record on her phone, zooming in on David’s face. There was no way she was missing the chance to record this for posterity... and let's be honest, a little blackmail.

Patrick dug the discomfort knife in a little deeper into David's soul and announced to the crowd that the song was dedicated to him.

David winced and Stevie laughed out loud.

Then Patrick started to sing.

It was like the air got sucked out of the room. No one made a sound.

She’d heard him through the little audio clip on the phone, but it had nothing on this. His voice filled the space and goosebumps rose on her skin. She stared at David. He looked stunned for a beat before it morphed into something like awe.

Keeping her phone trained on his face, she glanced over at Patrick. He sung directly to David, his gaze never leaving his face. David stared back, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he started to smile and duck his head, his dimples deepening.

All the humor Stevie felt earlier disappeared in an instant. David was coming apart, piece by piece, as his boyfriend—even though she knew they hadn’t defined that yet—sang to him with his heart in his eyes.

Her friends looked so _happy_.

She knew David had probably been on the verge of falling in love with Patrick for a while now, even if he’d never admit it, but she was 100% sure that this little gesture of Patrick’s just tipped the scale.

David was _done_ _for_. Gone. Completely, head over heels, crazy for Patrick. It was written all over his face.

Stevie felt her own eyes water and she hastily wiped her cheek. No way would she let anyone in this town see her cry over her best friend’s love life. Talk about embarrassing.

The song ended way too quick and the crowd broke out of their trance, clapping loudly. David still hadn’t taken his eyes off Patrick.

Patrick hastily introduced Bob and made a beeline for David, pulling him behind the counter and into the back room.

Stevie grinned and stopped recording, making her way to the counter to wait for them to reappear.

About five excruciating minutes later, Bob finally wrapped up his hideous beat poetry about Gwen, and people half-heartedly started to clap. There was a flurry of movement from behind the curtain and Patrick reemerged, his face bright pink and his hair a little disheveled. He ran to the stage to introduce a new act.

A minute later, David walked out, straightening his sweater, a dreamy expression on his face. His gaze skimmed over her and stopped—sharpened—then his eyes narrowed.

“Sick, huh?” his voice was full of suspicion.

Stevie grinned. “Miraculous recovery.”

“How long have you known about this?”

“Oh, a couple days.”

“Monster.”

“Stop complaining. You loved it.”

David’s expression softened, his eyes going a little misty. “I really did.”

“So, back room, huh? How many half-hickeys this time?”

David shot her a dirty look. “I don’t do anything in half measures.”

She snorted. “So you say.”

David smiled and stared up at the stage, his eyes drinking in the man currently talking to the crowd. “He’s really something.”

“Yeah, he is.”

Twyla took the stage with an accordion and both Stevie and David physically recoiled.

“You know what? I’m out of here. This isn’t _my_ store. I don’t have to deal with Twyla's act.”

David whined. “Don’t leave me.”

“Just take your boyfriend in the back again. She might be up there a while. I’ll talk to you later.”

David’s eyes flashed with her use of the word and he bit his lip, staring at Patrick, who walked toward them and stopped, smiling up at David before turning to her.

“Hey, Stevie, leaving so soon?”

“Can’t do accordions, sorry. You were great, Patrick. Really great.”

He grinned his wide, honest smile at her. “Thanks. We'll see you later.”

He grabbed David's arm and pulled him behind the counter again.

Stevie laughed and left the store.

***

Later that night, after she watched the video for the fourth time, she wiped her eyes and texted David, sending along the file.

**You got a good one, David Rose.**

About ten minutes later, her phone buzzed.

**I have the best one. Simply the best.**

**Thanks for the video. We both love it.**

Stevie smiled. Of course they were together right now. Where else would they be? Her two best friends in the whole world.

She wiped her eyes again, laughed to herself, and turned out the light.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Stevie saw David's olive branch?

**Sooo, that didn’t go as planned.**

Stevie read the text and smiled. David was so clueless sometimes. Well—most of the time, really.

**You don’t say? Patrick didn’t appreciate being used for gifts?**

**Shut up. Anyway, I don’t think he’s mad. He’s just annoyed. I think we’re okay. I hope we’re okay. He went to the café and left me here to think about what I’ve done.**

**And are you? Thinking about it?**

**Um, yeah.**

**So.**

**Here’s the thing....**

Stevie snorted. Of _course_.

**He wants me to give him some sort of “olive branch” now. To make up for not talking to him right away.**

**That sounds reasonable.**

**It is, yeah.**

**I have no idea what to do.**

**Help.**

Stevie sighed and called him. Texting would take too long.

David answered before the first ring even finished.

“What do I do?” His voice was high-pitched, panicked. “I have to do something major to make up for this. I can’t fuck it up.”

“You said he’s not mad.”

“He’s not. I just think I hurt his feelings.” David’s voice got very small. “I never wanted to hurt his feelings. He’s—well, he’s—you know.”

“Special?” Stevie supplied.

“Yeah. You could say that.”

“Look, David. I know the situation with him not telling you about Rachel was shitty, but this is all new to him. He’s not going to always do the right thing—or what you expect.”

“Um, I hope he never does what I expect. He’s pretty much always done the opposite of what I assume will happen next. And I’m not mad about Rachel. I know why he did what he did. I just freaked myself out. I thought he’d let me down like every other person I’ve ever dated.”

“Ouch.”

David sighed. “We didn’t _date._ I’m not including you in that. It’s just that, in the past, everyone I ever thought I was in a real relationship with ended up screwing me over. They never wanted me for _me_. I wasn’t something that ever really factored into the equation at all. After the barbeque, I just had some kind of PTSD flashback, or something.”

“David, Patrick isn’t like the people you used to hang out with.”

“I _know_ that. Logically, I know that. And now I’ve hurt his feelings by how I reacted. I need to make it better somehow. He _fought_ for me, Stevie. No one has ever fought for me. How do I make this better?”

Stevie thought about it, but came up empty.

“I don’t know. Just, whatever you do, make sure it’s from your heart.”

“You’re no help,” David grumbled, his voice bordering on whiny.

Stevie smiled. “Look I have to go. You’ll figure it out, David. That boy is crazy about you. He’ll love whatever you do because it’s you doing it.”

There was a soft exhale of air into the phone and when David answered, the whininess had disappeared. “Thanks.”

Stevie couldn’t let him off that easy. “Just, make sure it’s fucking _grand_. Or, you know, he could dump you.”

“Bite me.” David hung up and Stevie laughed, shoving her phone in her pocket.

She had an idea.

***

The café was empty, except a couple at the bar and Patrick tucked away in a corner booth, frowning into a bowl of soup.

She slid in across from him and he looked up, surprised.

“Stevie, hi.”

“Hey, there. I hear you’ve gotten caught up on David’s actions the last couple days.”

Patrick frowned again, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Instead of annoyance, there was relief behind them.

“He wants to get back together, but I don’t understand why he just didn’t talk to me when he first felt that way. I’ve been essentially crying myself to sleep every night, and he was just at the motel enjoying chocolates.”

Stevie sighed. “I don’t think he was enjoying anything.” She reached across the table and laid her hand on Patrick’s arm. He glanced up, eyes wide, and she continued, “Look. David hasn’t had the easiest life, despite all the money. You met him after he’d been here a year. Believe it or not, he’d already mellowed out a _lot_. When I first met him, he never smiled, he was wary of everyone, and he looked generally constipated every single moment of every day.”

Patrick chuckled and Stevie squeezed his arm before letting go. “It takes him a lot to trust people, and he’s still really quick to fall back into the headspace telling him no one loves him and everyone is out to get him.”

Patrick grimaced. “I never want him to feel like that again. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“I know you didn’t. And he didn’t mean to hurt you.” She sighed and sat back. “But, that’s what love is, right? Accidentally hurting people, but then forgiving each other in spite of it.”

Patrick flushed. “I—well, I never said—love.”

Stevie laughed. “ _Please_. I have eyes.”

She stood up. “I have to go back to work. Just, go easy on him. He’s trying. He wants you back. And he’s been absolutely awful to deal with this past week, so, for the love of God, please take him home and make sweet, sweet love to him tonight.”

Patrick’s face went bright red and he grinned into his soup, refusing to meet her eyes.

She laughed again and started to walk away, but Patrick’s voice stopped her. “Hey, Stevie?”

She turned back around, and Patrick watched her with those soft brown eyes, his expression completely open.

“Thanks.”

She nodded and left the café.

***

She meant to go home that night, she really did, but something drew her to the store. She hadn’t heard from David again that day, and despite the fact she knew he’d just been joking when he hung up on her, she was starting to worry maybe she actually _did_ piss him off.

At any rate, they were going to close any minute, and she felt like hanging out with him while they restocked and cleaned up. She missed hanging out with both of them together this week. It made her happy being around them and listening to their easy banter.

She rounded the corner just as loud music started up in the the store. She stopped, puzzled, as the bass of that Tina Turner song vibrated out through the windows. They usually didn’t play music so loud.

Glancing though the windows into the light of the store, she let out out a startled laugh and backed away, partially hiding behind a telephone pole to watch.

David was _dancing_.

And not just dancing, it looked like he was singing. She couldn’t hear him over the loud music, which was probably a good thing, because she _had_ heard David sing before, and it was kind-of a train wreck.

She watched, transfixed, as David shimmied around Patrick, who sat on a chair, his back to the windows. She’d never seen David move like that, so free and open, as he danced and sang his heart out to the man he obviously loved like whoa. David would never do this for anyone else, she was absolutely sure of that, so this was something pretty major. 

She let out a little giggle and continued to watch. She felt like the worst sort of voyeur, but there was no way she’d walk away without seeing how this all played out.

David was gesturing wildly with the chorus of the song, obviously feeling the music, and Patrick’s shoulders shook with laughter as he watched. It was adorable, and Stevie wasn’t sure whether she should feel emotional or nauseous. Either way, this _had_ to be David’s “olive branch” and it was a banger.

She couldn’t have thought up anything better for David to show Patrick he was sorry. Patrick knew David as well as she did—maybe even better. He’d understand why this was such a big deal.

David didn’t do grand gestures, and yet here he was, performing the grandest one of all.

Stevie grinned, holding a shaky hand up to her lips as she watched David slide across the ground in front of Patrick, both of them throwing their hands in the air as the lyrics stopped and the music took over. David started to stand, probably in anticipation of the rest of the song, but Patrick grabbed his arm and hauled him into his lap.

David wrapped his arms around Patrick’s shoulders and leaned in for a kiss. Stevie coughed and looked away. Watching David dance his heart out was one thing—watching her friends make out in the empty store was something else entirely. It was time to go.

Whistling the same melody, she turned and headed toward home.


End file.
